Hazuki Kashiwabara
Lotus Yashiro (八代) |gender = Female |age = 40 (born c. 1987) |hair = Black |eye = Blue |occupation = Unemployed freelance programmer (former IT firm employee) |status = Alive |relative = Nona Kashiwabara (daughter) Ennea Kashiwabara (daughter) Ichiro (ex-husband) |affiliates = Seven |appearances = 999 Virtue's Last Reward (mentioned) Zero Time Dilemma (mentioned) }} Hazuki Kashiwabara (柏原 葉月 Kashiwabara Hazuki), also known by her codename Lotus, is one of the nine players in the Nonary Game and possesses bracelet number 8. Like everyone else, she claims to have been kidnapped by Zero. Appearance Hazuki has long jet black hair with light blue streaks tied into a ponytail. She wears turquoise hair accessories. Santa claims in the cargo room that her hair is "ridiculous" and that its texture is "like clay or something". Her hair also slightly resembles dreadlocks or braids. She wears a black choker around her neck. She is seen wearing very little clothing on her upper body. Her upper outfit is a turquoise halter top which exposes her cleavage. She wears gold jewelry around her biceps and wrists, although Zero apparently had to remove the one on her left wrist in order to put her bracelet on. On her upper neck, she wears an exquisite golden necklace and a moon decor below her navel. On her lower body, she wears a red wraparound on her hips which is also adorned with gold jewelry resembling coins. Under the wraparound, she wears blue pants which resemble silk that are loose near the end of her legs. She wears golden snake sandals. She has three gold rings on her left hand. She has a bracelet on her left wrist and its number is 8. Personality Hazuki was usually very cryptic and spoke what she called nonsense most of the time. She had an easy going, laid-back personality, but if anyone had insulted her age, called her an old lady, or made a joke about the way she was dressed, she would turn into what Seven called a demon. She also doesn't get along with Santa. Hazuki is also slightly brash, and won't hesitate to correct someone if they are wrong. She tries her best to prioritize logic over emotions, but also seems to possess a softer side at times, and is able to sympathize with her companions. According to herself, she's a great cook who can "boil hot water and put in instant noodles" and "boil eggs". Her previous occupation was working at a IT (information technology) firm. Hazuki has proven to be a very skilled in computer coding, programming and hacking. Hazuki is based on the "Individualist" Enneagram of Personality, which desires to have an identity of its own, as well as being unique instead of just another number in a crowd. This could explain Hazuki's unique choice of clothing. Background At approximately the age of 19, Hazuki married a man named Ichiro and had twin girls, Nona and Ennea, and divorced him sometime after, for unknown reasons. When asked about being a young mother, she says, "I had them when I was young after... after some things happened." At some point in time, she used to live in Silicon Valley, San Francisco, California. Also at some point in time, she worked for an IT firm as a computer programmer for a cyber-security firm, but later quit for an unknown reason. Her behavior when asked about it implies there is something more to the story behind her quitting. She then became an unemployed freelance computer programmer. During the First Nonary Game, Nona and Ennea were kidnapped by members of Cradle Pharmaceutical, a pharmaceutical company. When Nona and Ennea were rescued 9 days later, they had never informed Hazuki of what they had experienced during the First Nonary Game. Hazuki inferred this as a sign that they saw something terrible, so she took them to the doctor, only to be informed that they weren't physically harmed. She didn't try to force them to talk about it because she feared that they would have to relive their experiences of the Nonary Game. Eventually, they started to act like they always had before they were kidnapped, so Hazuki decided to drop the issue of forcing them to talk about it. However, she decided to investigate this matter on her own, without telling her children, but her investigation yielded nothing to her dismay. Also, the police had not aided in the investigation, so the Nonary Game issue was swept under the rug. She believed that the media or an organization was covering up what really happened. Recently, she also took up belly dancing as a hobby, which explains her choice of clothing. During 999, she is still unemployed. Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors Nine years after the events of the First Nonary Game, Hazuki was kidnapped at her home at midnight by a person wearing a cloak and a gas mask. She was knocked out by the anesthetic Soporil and transported to Building Q in Nevada in order to play the Nonary Game herself. This was because Akane saw that Hazuki was necessary to create a future in which she would be saved, and also to solve a computer puzzle in one of the escape rooms. In addition, Hazuki would finally learn the truth of what occurred to her traumatized children 9 years ago and have some closure on this mystery. Hazuki was presumably stuck in a room similar to the 3rd class cabin and had escaped. Hazuki soon met seven other people placed in the same situation as her and ran towards the central staircase along with Teruaki Kubota, Aoi Kurashiki, and Seven only to encounter Junpei, another player of the Nonary Game. Hazuki was the first to run towards Junpei, who noticed that her clothing covered very little of her chest. Hazuki told Junpei to move before she ran towards the two numbered doors, Door 4 and Door 5. After searching the central staircase, Hazuki revealed that her bracelet number is eight and that she would like to be called Lotus. While Clover is being held hostage by the 9th Man, she is the only one to stay silent. After the 9th Man leaves through Door 5, she claims to hear a beeping sound from inside of Door 5, and after the others listen, the 9th Man begs them to open the door and eventually blows up. After Snake reads the rule card, Junpei suggests they go through the numbered doors as well. Lotus is the first person to refuse to go through Door 5, saying that she doesn't want to walk through the 9th Man's blood. If Junpei chooses Door 4 Eventually, Lotus goes into Door 4 with Junpei, Santa, and June. After deactivating the detonator in the bracelets, they find themselves in the 2nd class cabin. Lotus decides to investigate Room B93 with Santa, while June and Junpei search B92. After Junpei solves the dog picture puzzle, Lotus states that she saw the dog picture in one of Sheldrake's books about the Morphogenetic Field Theory. Lotus asks what Junpei and Santa think the picture is of. After Junpei gives his answer, Lotus states that it is a picture of a dog. She explains that an experiment in Great Britain had taken place that asked a group of 1000 people to identify two pictures. One picture was the dog picture, while the other is a picture of a woman wearing a hat. About 9.2% of people figured out the lady picture, while only 3.9% identified the dog picture as a dog. Lotus goes on saying that after the experiment, another one was conducted where British TV could not reach. The experiment had only 850 people and had the subjects identify the same pictures. While the amount of people who identified the lady picture correctly only went up to 10%, the dog picture's results doubled. Lotus says that this increase could have only occurred because of morphogenetic fields. She explains that the solution to the pictures was transmitted through this field. However, she states that she doesn't believe that morphogenetic fields exist and insists on leaving. ] The group continues down a hallway and end up in the kitchen. While there, Junpei reveals that he and June had found a map in the second class cabin. Lotus and Santa look at it and explain that getting out of the kitchen will lead them on the other side of the bars blocking the 2nd class cabin from the stairs to C Deck. When Junpei, June, and Santa enter the freezer, Lotus stays outside, stating that it is too cold for her. However, the freezer door shuts, locking them inside. After they escape from the freezer, Junpei yells at Lotus for locking them in the freezer. She denies that she shut the door on them, but stated that she was worried about them and that if they died, she died as well. After their argument, they resume searching the kitchen and eventually find the Saturn Key Card and leave the room behind. Junpei checks the map and points out the stairs to C Deck. After investigating the Casino door, which was locked, Lotus points out that the door blocking the C Deck stairs is now unlocked. She states that Ace, Snake, Clover, and Seven probably opened the door. Seeing that it is the only way forward, they head down to C Deck. On C Deck, they find an elevator with the Mercury symbol on the card reader. Junpei jokes that it is the symbol for Lotus, angering her. She grabs Junpei's hair and violently shakes him, which makes him wonder if she is the devil. Reunion Soon, they find themselves in the large hospital room. After discovering that the REDs for Doors 3, 7, and 8 are missing, the other players suddenly come in the room. After exchanging information, the 8 of them go look through the hospital rooms in the hall with the Jupiter door. After searching the hospital rooms for an hour (with no results), Lotus returns to the large hospital room first and discovers that the REDs for all three doors have been inserted back into the scanning devices. After Junpei realizes that Snake is missing, Clover runs off to look for him. Lotus helps out the search by looking around the Casino. While examining her nails, Lotus is approached by Junpei and June. She makes a proposal to them, suggesting that the three of them take Seven and go through Door 8. June disagrees saying that it is inhumane to leave the remaining people behind, and adds that the four of them would not be able to escape through Door 9 without Ace. After searching everywhere for Snake, everyone heads back to the large hospital room. Lotus tells the group that it is impossible to go through the numbered doors without leaving someone behind. She suggests that they vote to leave one person behind. Despite June strongly opposing Lotus's plan, she is able to convince Santa, Seven, and a depressed Clover to agree with her. But before they can vote on who should remain in the hospital room, Ace volunteers to stay behind, saying that his age is making him tired and just wants to rest. Lotus is happy that someone made the decision easy. After Ace falls asleep from the anesthetic, she tells the remaining players that they need to keep moving. Santa asks which door everyone wants to go in. Seven picks Door 7 saying that he cannot get along with Lotus. If Junpei chooses Door 3 Should Junpei choose Door 3, Santa will say that that is impossible, as it would leave yet another person behind and asks him to choose again. If Junpei insists on Door 3 (a decision which, according to later dialogue, is motivated by the desire not to leave June), he will then trick Seven and June into authenticating, and finally scans it himself. * 7 + 6 + 5 = 18 = 1 + 8 = 9 This still isn't enough to make a digital root of 3, so Junpei says either Santa, or Lotus and Clover could come with him. * 7 + 6 + 5 + 3 = 21 = 2 + 1 = 3 or * 7 + 6 + 5 + 8 + 4 = 30 = 3 + 0 = 3 At this point, Santa, Clover and Lotus realize it's a potential life-or-death situation as to who scans their bracelets at the REDs next. Despite Lotus and Clover getting a running headstart, Santa manages to pass them and scan his bracelet at the RED. Santa enters Door 3 with Santa, June, and Seven, and leaves the incredulous and desperate Clover and Lotus behind. Fortunately for Clover and Lotus, the group returns. A furious Lotus slaps Junpei hard across the face for what happened before. If Junpei chooses Door 7 Aoi asked Junpei which door he wanted to go through and he picked Door 7. Aoi quickly mentioned that Akane had to go into Door 8 because that was the only way to split the six of them up evenly. While Akane and Junpei were scared about being separated, Seven reassured them that the two groups will meet back up somewhere. With that, Seven, Clover, and Junpei hurried through Door 7 and Aoi, Akane, and Lotus went through Door 8. Lotus and her group escaped the laboratory at about the same time Junpei and his group escaped the operating room. They met inside of a long hallway and they followed it back to the hospital room. If Junpei chooses Door 8 Hazuki enters Door 8 with Junpei and Clover and investigates the Laboratory. Using her amazing programming skills, Hazuki brute forces a computer and helps her group escape. Reunion After Clover finds a map of C Deck on the nearby wall, the six of them end up back at the large hospital room. They explain to Ace what they found behind the Doors. After Clover begs Seven and Ace to go through Door 3 with her, while Junpei, June, Santa, and Lotus head through the Jupiter door, since Junpei had found the key in the Operating Room. Once arriving back at the central staircase, Santa and Lotus search A Deck and find Door 1, while Junpei and June find Door 6. After searching, they head back to the large hospital room. They enter the room to find three sad people. Ace tells the group that they had found Snake's mangled corpse in the shower room, and offers to let them see it themselves. Lotus' group walks in through the alternate entrance and are shocked at what they see. The smell of the body becoming unbearable, they quickly leave. Back in the hospital room, the players discuss who could have murdered Snake, and agree that it was Zero. Clover cuts into the conversation and says that Zero is one of them, silencing the room. Ace tells her that they shouldn't be suspicious of each other, as that will lead to them falling right into Zero's trap. He convinces her to come with the rest of the group to the Mercury elevators. There, they conduct a vote (as suggested by Junpei). Lotus chooses Door 2, only to be disappointed when Seven chose the same door. Seven then states that he does not want to go with an "exhibitionist grandma", which angers Lotus and almost leads to a fight between the two. Ace restrains Lotus and asks Junpei to read the other slips of paper. Submarine Ending Depending on if Junpei chose Door 3 (in the DS version) or Door 2 during the voting, Seven, Lotus, and Junpei head through Door 2. After scanning at the DEAD behind the door, the trio begins to investigate the confinement room, with Lotus investigating the second room. After opening the Emergence door, Lotus, Seven, and Junpei find themselves in the torture chamber. Lotus says she wants to get out of the room as quickly as possible. After opening the locks on the chair, she volunteers to sit in the chair. Before sitting, she tells Junpei and Seven that if something happens to her, she wants them to tell her children that she loved them. She then tells them that one of her daughters is named Nona. Once Seven hears this, he tells Lotus about the Cradle Pharmaceutical experiment and that her daughters were part of that test. Seven mentions that the kids had to go through a telepathy experiment called "The Ganzfeld Experiment". He explains that it involved two people and one person would have to send the picture they were shown, using telepathy to the other person and the other person must identify the picture. Lotus says that after her daughters returned from the experiment, she began investigating what had occurred when they went missing but was unable to find anything, she states that someone must have been covering up what really occurred. After hearing that if someone does not sit in the chair and the device will restart in an hour, Lotus sits in the chair. After leaving the torture room, Seven, Junpei, and Lotus head back to the central staircase to open the Sun door. Upon reaching the central staircase, they discover that Ace, Clover, and Santa are dead. After Seven states that Clover has no pulse, Lotus takes the Sun Key from Junpei's pocket. She says they need to leave in case the killer returns. After putting the Sun Key into its lock, Lotus discovers that the door was already unlocked. After heading down the nearby hall, Junpei, Seven, and Lotus find a large door which they assume to be locked. Junpei is able to open the door by stepping in front of it. Lotus and Seven get scared because this door opened without a key or a bracelet. He goes through the door while Seven and Lotus stay. However, Ace kills Seven and Lotus and takes her bracelet to escape, as he had the Number 9 bracelet as well. Safe Ending After discovering the chapel and finding the two Door 9s, the group met up with Lotus and Seven near the central staircase. They told them that Clover was missing and the players split up to go try to find her. Junpei took June with him and the two searched the large hospital and the shower room. It turns out that Clover was murdered by an unknown assailant, possibly the same murderer as her brother Snake. Clover's body is discovered inside the first class bathroom with a safe, which Junpei had passed through earlier on. After a cryptic note found in Clover's hand allows Junpei to figure out the combination to the safe, he opens the safe, inside which is information that sheds some light on Zero's true motives. Nine years ago, the First Nonary Game was held, and it is revealed that members of the current party were involved in it. Among these members is Zero's primary target; Gentarou Hongou, the CEO of Cradle Pharmaceutical. After concluding that the Zero had in fact set up a decoy to be murdered in Snake's place, and that Ace is a prosopagnosia patient, Junpei accuses Ace of murdering both the decoy and Clover, and claims that Ace is in fact Gentarou Hongou himself. During the second Nonary Game, Ace had lured the 9th Man to act as he did to test the seriousness of the game and to avoid his identity being revealed, as well as obtain the 9 bracelet he possessed. Ace also kills two other Cradle executives that Zero had planted for revenge for the first Nonary Game. Ace eventually admits to the allegations, and holds Lotus up at gunpoint in order to escape. He also reveals that he orchestrated the 9th man's death in order to obtain the 9th bracelet and protect his true identity. Junpei, Seven, Santa and June pursue Ace, but Santa and June decide to stay behind when June starts feeling weak and feverish. Inside the incinerator they encounter Ace, who's still holding Lotus at gunpoint. Ace reveals to Snake that he killed Clover (something Junpei and Seven were unable to tell him), causing Snake to fly into a rage and attack Ace. However, even after using up all his revolver bullets, Ace is unable to successfully kill Snake. The distraction causes Lotus to be released from Ace's grasp. He then turns the gun on Junpei, saying to hand over Lotus or he will shoot everyone. Snake manages to stand up pins Ace down, vowing to burn along with him when the incinerator activates. Seven and Lotus force a distraught Junpei out of the incinerator, while Ace and Snake get locked inside and burn to death. Junpei leaves Seven and Lotus by the incinerator, and it is unknown what happens to Lotus in this ending. True Ending Junpei chooses to go through Door 1 with Ace and Clover. This forces Lotus and Seven to go through Door 6 with June and Santa. Before leaving, Seven jokes that June going with them would lower the average age, which angers Lotus. After Lotus murmurs that she will get him, they head to Door 6. While there, they escape through the giant steam engine room and the cargo room, where they discover a revolver inside of a coffin. They decide to leave it there, as it will give one player too big of an advantage over the others. After going through the exit, they find that they are on the other side of the fence, with a promising hallway leading somewhere. They follow it to a small door and file in to find what they were looking for all this time: Door 9. They realize that Santa, Seven, and Lotus could leave at once, but Santa refuses to leave June behind, and suggests that they go back up to C Deck to retrieve the others. They do so, and bring them down to the chapel. They also find that there is a second 9 door in the back of the room, which would allow everyone to escape. Clover does the calculations in her notebook and tells the others that if 4 players proceed, 3 will be left behind, and vice-versa, which makes it impossible for all the players to go through Door 9. The room is silent for a several moments, until Seven breaks it, saying that he will stay behind to let the other 6 players move on. Everyone rejects the idea and they continue to think of another plan. Santa gets into the conversation and says that he doesn't want to leave Seven alone, but with two other people. He quickly grabs June and takes the golden revolver out. He points it right at her head and drags her back to the big 9 door. He orders Ace and Lotus to come along, and they hesitate to do so, not wanting to leave the others behind. Santa pushes the barrel into June's head, causing them to go with Santa's plan, despite June's insistence that they shouldn't worry about her. He even fires the gun at the floor, to show that he isn't messing around. Lotus, Ace, Santa and June walk in the door and follow a long hallway to the incinerator. Inside, Ace sucker punches Santa, causing him to release June, and more importantly, drop the gun. Ace snatches it and grabs Lotus. He drags her up to the final 9 door, as Junpei, Clover, Seven, and a surprisingly alive Snake walk in. Ace points the barrel to her head and gloats that he beat Zero's game. He authenticates at the RED, and it doesn't work. He angrily tries over and over again, which gives Seven a chance to charge at him, knocking him down and releasing Lotus from his grip. Junpei reveals to the others about Ace's past and made him confess on the murders of the 3 other executives of Cradle Pharmaceutical. Junpei also asks Santa what he motives are for being Zero. Santa smirks and tells him that he is not Zero, but merely his assistant, and that they were all brought to play the game to save June, his sister. He picks up the revolver, points it at Ace's head, and drags him out of the entrance. The doors lock and the incineration process suddenly starts. A computer rises from beneath the ground and Lotus tries to see if it will work. Junpei comes behind her and tells her that he will take care of the computer. He quickly solves the Sudoku puzzle and tells the players that all 5 of the them have to authenticate at the RED. They do so and the door opens, to their surprise as their combined digital root was 8. There is a metal staircase right outside and they rush up it, Junpei explaining that the door was actually a lower-case Q, which would be 26 in hexadecimal. They finally make it to the final door and open it. Lotus and the group find out that they were in Building Q the entire time. Their bracelets deactivate and fall off. Santa and June had left a SUV for them (with Ace tied up in the back) and they pile into it, Clover driving. She sits in the passenger's seat next to Clover in the SUV. After Junpei questions Ace about some of the mysteries of the Nonary Game, Clover stops the car to pick up a woman named Alice, who they find waiting on the side of the road. After being questioned by Alice, she is released a few days later and returns home to her daughters. However, it is unknown if she joins the SOIS with Ennea and Nona. ''Virtue's Last Reward'' She is only mentioned in the Secret Archives as an attractive programmer who has two daughters. ''Zero Time Dilemma'' Lotus is mentioned by Junpei in the Decontamination Room. She has since returned to a normal life and is busy raising her daughters. Quotes * "Oh my God..." (seeing the 9th Man's bloody corpse) * "What the hell is a funyarinpa? How the hell would I know!? Junpei, are you just screwing around?" * "...Pssyyyych! Oh, I was just kidding. You really shouldn't take me seriously." (to Junpei) * "Why you little son of a-! I'm gonna kick your ass!" (to Santa) * "To figure out if this is a light... we need a light. Talk about a Catch-22. Kind of says something about life, though, don't you think?" * "Hey Santa, digging through the trash really suits you." * "The lady doth protest too much, methinks. You are not terribly subtle." (on Junpei's relationship with June) * "How about we put it on your face and then light it on fire?" (discussing a bottle of oil with Santa) * "Well, so much for making a persuasive argument, Junpei." * "Eh!? W-W-Wait a minute! There's no way I'm going anywhere with the Elephant Man! But--!" * Lotus: "I'm not an exhibitionist! I'm wearing clothes!" Seven: "Barely." Lotus: "So?! Last I checked, that's not a crime!" * "RrrrrrrrRRRRGH! I'm going to kill you!" (to Seven) * "Look... Do you think you could do me one last favor? Just listen. If something happens to me, I want you to tell my daughters that I loved them very much. ...No. Tell them that I will always love them." (to Junpei and Seven in the torture room) *Ace: "Lotus, would you be so kind as to go with me?" Lotus: "Go with you? I didn't think people still talked that way outside of the 1950s... Well, I'm a mother. Would that be a problem for you?" Ace: "U-Uh... That wasn't what I meant to... I was hoping you would come with me..." Lotus: "Ha ha ha... Seriously though, I was kidding." Trivia *According to the timeline, Hazuki was a teenage wife and mother at approximately the age of 19. When asked about it, she says, "I had them when I was young after... after some things happened." *Her English alias is the name of a flower that, according to her, has 8 petals. While incorrect botanically, the eight-petaled lotus is an important image in many Eastern religions such as Buddhism and is likely the aspect of the lotus flower she was referring to. *Her Japanese alias Yashiro (八代) is not only a Japanese surname but also contains the word hachi (八), which means "eight" in Japanese. *Her real name, Hazuki (葉月), means "Month of Leaves" and refers to the eighth month of the Japanese calendar, August. *In the character popularity polls, Lotus ranks #3 in Japan and #6 in the United States. *Lotus accompanies Junpei through only even numbered doors. *Together, Hazuki (8) and her ex-husband Ichiro (1) have the digital root of nine. Similarly, their daughters Nona Kashiwabara and Ennea Kashiwabara (9) are the result of their numbers meeting. Gallery LotusProfile.png|Official profile. Lotus (1).png|Hazuki talking. Lotus (2).png|Hazuki angry. Lotus (3).png|Hazuki sad. Lotus (4).png|Hazuki concerned. Lotus (5).png|Hazuki thinking. Lotus (6).png|Hazuki blushing. Lotus (7).png|Hazuki smiling. Lotus (8).png|Hazuki laughing. LotusGetsAngry.gif|Hazuki gets angry. LotusAngry.gif|Hazuki angry. Lotusunimpressed.gif|Hazuki unimpressed. LotusAnnoyed.gif|Hazuki annoyed. LotusBlushing.gif|Hazuki blushing. Lotusconcerned.gif|Hazuki concerned. LotusGiggles.gif|Hazuki giggling. LotusGiggling.gif|Hazuki laughing. Lotusneutral.gif|Hazuki neutral. LotusSad.gif|Hazuki sad. LotusThinking.gif|Hazuki thinking. LotusSprites.png|Spritesheet. Bracelet 8.png|Hazuki's bracelet. Lotusred.png|Hazuki's hand on the RED. Lotusdead.png|Hazuki's hand on the DEAD. Lotus concept.jpg|Concept art. 1025.jpg|Concept art. 999-lotus-sketches1.jpg|Concept art. 999-lotus-sketches2.jpg|Concept art. LotusOutfit1.jpg|Young Hazuki. Lotus_Art.jpg|Concept art. Cast 5.png|Hazuki with the players. 999 players.png|Hazuki on the right. B00.png|Hazuki comforting June. B01.png|Hazuki in the torture room. Cast 4.png|Hazuki with the players. Lotus hacking 1.png|Hazuki prepares to type. Lotus hacking 7.png|Hazuki hacks a computer. Lotus hacking 2.png|Hazuki types at a blinding pace and Junpei is impressed. Lotus hacking 3.png|Hazuki explains to Junpei what she is doing. Lotus hacking 4.png|Hazuki is frustrated with the computer. Lotus hacking 5.png|Hazuki with Junpei. Lotus hacking 6.png|Hazuki angry at Junpei. Lab big mistake.png|''"Old lady... Did you just say... OLD... LADY...?"'' Lotus Dead.png|Hazuki dead after being stabbed with Ace's knife in the Knife Ending. Lotuswallpaper.jpg|Phone wallpaper. Lotus2.png|Hazuki in the novel. Santa Lotus.png|Hazuki in the novel. Nona2.png|Hazuki embraces Nona in the novel. Category:Characters Category:Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors characters Category:Female characters Category:Japanese characters Category:Second Nonary Game players